Trip down memory lane

Annah Chulam e Sara da Cunha,

 da Finland (Maio 2010) pro Brasil (Dezembro de 2012) 

Prova amanha.

São 22:38 e eu tenho uma prova amanha. Nunca fui de passar a noite toda acordada estudar de ultima hora, isso pra mim não funciona. Pra mim, quando chega 10 da noite, ja vai batendo aquele soninho e aquela vontade de descansar depois de um dia longo. Coisa de velho mesmo haha. Mas a prova de amanha é de microeconomia. É uma prova que vale 25% da minha nota final, e tem 8 capítulos de materia pra estudar. E agora você me pergunta, QUE QUE EU TO FAZENDO AQUI ESCREVENDO? 


Pois é. Beijos.

Hora.

Agora ja é quase dezembro, ja é quase 2014, ja é quase o final. Final, final, final de que? Não quero pensar em um final, mas sim em um comeco. É hora de recomecar, de botar a rotina de pés para o alto. É hora de rir, gargalhar, soltar a felicidade. Porque embora a vida não seja sempre um mar de rosas, tem sempre um motivo pra ser feliz. 

Não entrei para o WCE como eu queria. Mas pra compensar, virei VP OGX do AIESEC Houston, WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOO.
Yeah, vai ser um ano diferente, complicado. Vai ser um desafio gostoso, um frio na barriga que traz aquele sorriso.

Estou feliz. Estou feliz. Estou feliz. 

Metades, rotina e entrevista.

Outubro ja ta pela metade. O semestre ja ta pela metade. Meu curso na faculdade ja ta pela metade. Tantas metades....

Enfim, ultimamente minha vida anda meio pacata, meio tranquila. Academia 3/4 vezes por semana. Aulas, aulas e mais aulas. Testes. Provas. Trabalhos. Projetos. Amigos. Cervejas. Cafeteria. É isso. 

O campus é otimo, super grande e cheio de gente. Eu to me adaptando bem, conhecendo gente nova e passeando por ai. O clima ja ta esfriando, e aquela vontade de ver filme de baixo das cobertas vai aumentando. 

Eu hoje tenho uma entrevista. Uma SUPER entrevista pro Wolf Center of Entrepreneurship, que se eu entrar vai ser um accomplishment sem tamanho! Eles só aceitam 35 alunos por ano, e eu to cruzando os dedos pra eles gostarem de mim hahaha. 

Wish me luck :)

University of Houston!

Check it out guys :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=Ts6fqWjEWgY

Good listeners

So the question is: are you listening, or just waiting to speak? 

Summer in Italy?

As the days go by and the weeks come to an end, I can't help but notice that it will be over in a blink of an eye. My semester, my year, my college life. I am excited about it, but it's also a little scary. 

I have been thinking a lot about combining traveling with something productive (studying or working or having an internship) and I heard about this opportunity with AIESEC that I might be able to spend some time in Italy this summer, either volunteering or working on an internship. This makes me reeeeeally excited actually. I could choose any country, but Italy just sounds like..... sounds like the place to go. And who doesn't want to learn Italian? 


Oh boy, I found an expensive hobby huh? 


-Annah

Football game

I also went to my very first football game - The Bayou Bucket, UH vs. Rice. We won 31-26 :) Everyone wearing red is rooting for us, and everyone in blue is rooting for Rice. No need to say anything else, huh? Go Coogs! 

UH

I have now been at school for one month. Things are going..... fast. Tests, quizzes, meetings, it's like I am juggling with 20 different balls and I can't stop or I will drop one. But I am loving every minute of it.

Right now I am applying to the Entrepreneurship program, and hopefully I will get in. UH has just been rated as the 2nd best Entrepreneurship program in the nation. How incredible is that?  In the process of applying, I have been reliving all my exchange experiences. I have been writing about why I am so passionate about traveling, and how much it has changed me. 

I guess it always comes down to it: change.

Nova etapa

Ontem foi o primeiro dia de uma nova etapa na minha vida: minha vida na Universidade de Houston.  São 8 mil alunos morando no campus (eu sou um desses alunos), 40 mil alunos ao todo, e um campus de 670 acres. É, é grande.

 Meu quarto ja ta criando jeitinho de Annah. Aos poucos vai indo :)

24hr Challenge

Ontem rolou um challenge diferente. Estou sozinha em casa por 10 dias, terminando quinta que vem. Preciso aproveitar meu tempo ne? Alem de dancar pelada e baguncar a casa, eu queria fazer algo novo, algo diferente. Por isso, comecei o meu 24hr challenge: a day without electronics. 

A meia noite do dia 3 pro dia 4, eu desliguei tudo. Desliguei o celular, televisao, iPad, iPod, iTudo. Nao parece ser muito dificil ne? E ate que nao foi....muito. 

Acordei as 9 da manha. Claro, sem despertador sem nada, podendo acordar  A QUALQUER HORA DO DIA, fui acordar as 9. Tipico azar. Enfim, levantei, tomei cafe, e olhei em volta. Nossa, como a cozinha ta baguncada! Depois de arrumar os temperos em ordem alfabética, e os molhos em ordem de altura, resolvi limpar. Nao é por nada não, mas limpar sem musica simplesmente nao da. E sem eletronicos, nao tem musica. 
Entao resolvi largar a limpeza e ir pra academia. Quando cheguei no meu quarto, vi que o cesto de roupa suja tava grande! resolvi fazer uma maquina. Depois de espalhar tudo no chao, separar em cores e estilos, reparei que nao tinha sabão de roupa. Fui comprar. Supermercado demorou tipo 1h. Afinal, eu nao tinha nada pra fazer. Comprei o sabao e um spray de matar baratas (porque vi uma no dia anterior e ela fugiu antes de eu conseguir achar algo para mata-la), e ingredientes para fazer um Martini. 
Botei minha roupa na maquina, e olhei o relogio. Nao eram nem 10am. Muito cedo pra tomar um Martini. Entao parei de enrolar e fui pra academia. Fiz 5 minutos da maquina (acho que se chama eliptico) e ja nao aguentava mais. Nao to falando do exercicio, to falando to tédio. Sem musica, sem um filme, sem nada. fiz 25 minutos e nao aguentei, tive que sair. Resolvi ir pra casa nadar, pra continuar meu exercicios. 
Chegando em casa, fui pegar um solzinho. Afinal, nao da pra desperdicar ne? Acabei nao nadando e fiquei ali sem fazer nada até umas 11:30. Nao aguentava mais ficar ali. Fui fazer almoco, mesmo sem fome. 
Depois do almoco, resolvi ler um livro. Foi entao que percebi que quase todos os meus livros sao Ebooks. Entao fui na Half Book Prices comprar um livro. Passei umas duas horas la, no paraíso dos nerds. Quando fui comprar os livros que eu tinha separado (eram uns 5 ou 6) eu pensei ca com meus botoes: Pra que comprar esses livros se eu tenho tudo no iPad? Ja ja eu to me mudando pro college, e ficar carregando os livros eh pesado! Assim, sai de la de mãos vazias. 
No final do dia, eu tinha limpado metade da cozinha, arrumado metade do quarto, feito jantar, passeado com os cachorros, cuidado dos passarinhos, e estava relendo livros antigos. 


No final das contas, eu gostei de passar o dia sem eletronicos. Foi como uma desintoxicacão. Mas ter que arrumar as coisas sem musica, ou ir malhar sem eletronicos, simplesmente nao é pra mim. 

Bjs, 
Annah

Tudo.

My challenge didn't work out (Had no wifi or internet in France, at all).
My trip to France ended up not being such a disaster as I was expecting.
Then I got back from France and went to Mexico (which was incredibly epic).
In Mexico, I turned 21.
Then Dad came to visit (we went to New Orleans)
And now, I am working. A lot.

And that is all.

Growing older

Incredible column by Regina Brett. It is worth reading.


"To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me.

It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update:

1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone.
8. It's OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
12. It's OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
16. Life is too short for long pity parties. Get busy living, or get busy dying.
17. You can get through anything if you stay put in today.
18. A writer writes. If you want to be a writer, write.
19. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Overprepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
24. The most important sex organ is the brain.
25. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
26. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
27. Always choose life.
28. Forgive everyone everything.
29. What other people think of you is none of your business.
30. Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
31. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
32. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.
33. Believe in miracles.
34. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn't do.
35. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
36. Growing old beats the alternative - dying young.
37. Your children get only one childhood. Make it memorable.
38. Read the Psalms. They cover every human emotion.
39. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
40. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back.
41. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
42. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
43. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
44. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
45. The best is yet to come.
46. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
47. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
48. If you don't ask, you don't get.
49. Yield.
50. Life isn't tied with a bow, but it's still a gift."

Day 18

Nada deu certo. O shuttle chegiu uma hora atrasada, eu nao cheguei no aeroporto a tempo, e perdi o voo por questao de minutos. Tive que voltar pra casa e dirigir pro aeroporto hoje as 5 da manha. Agora to no aeroporto em Atlanta, esperando 4hrs pro proximo voo pra Paris. Ai sentei perto de um McDonalds, descolei um wifi gratis com tomada por perto e pimba! Essa viagem ja comecou sendo uma saga, quero so ver o que me aguarda pela frente hahaha

Day 17

Prova # 1 - Check
Prova # 2 - Check
Malas feitas - Check
Passaportes - Check
Imprimir o boarding pass - Check
Euros no bolso - Check
Papel com endereco do vovo no bolso - Check
Shuttle pra me levar no aeroporto - Check

Paris in 3, 2, 1....
ACHO QUE EU TO PRONTA GENTEEEE!!!

Day 16

Fiz hoje a minha prova de government. MANDEI MUITO BEEEEEEEEEEEEM uhuhuhuhuhuhh . Com certeza tirei um Azão ahahahaha Agora só faltam 2 provas e uma mala pra fazer e amanha, PARIS HERE I COME. 

Acho que vai ser um problema continuar a escrever no blog por 30 dias estando na Franca, porque eu não sei quando vou ter acesso a internet. O que eu vou fazer é escrever em um papel quando eu não tiver internet, e quando eu entrar posto. 

agora bjs pra vocês que eu to super ocupada. 

Day 15

    

Hoje é dia de CELEBRAR!!!
Ontem a noite (ou seria hoje de manhã?) eu terminei accounting! Sim, eu terminei todos os deveres, todas as tarefas, fiz a minha prova final e tirei 96%!!!!! THAT. IS. FREAKING. AWESOME. hahahahaha É muita emocão. 96% foi bom, mas acho que ainda nao da pra salvar um A no semestre. Eu tirei varios 80 e pouco, e acho que minha media vai ser B. Mas quem é que liga???
EU TERMINEI CONTABILIDADEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! 


Enfim, agora tenho que estudar pra prova de Governo, Inglês e Teatro (sim, eu tenho prova de teatro, e é no papel). Ah, e hoje também é dia de fazer a mala, porque terça já é dia de começar a falar com biquinho hihihi. 

Au revoi procês :)

Day 14

Ontem rolou a festa anual de crawfish da empresa. Foi super legal, mas tive que ficar trabalhando até as 20h30. Hoje é mais um sabadão de HW, studying and accounting. Terca feira é o ultimo dia, uhuuuul. Esse fim de semana também vou ter que fazer minha mala porque terca logo depois das minhas 4 provas, Paris here I come! 

Day 13

Eu hoje era pra ter acordado cedo pra ir pro escritório. Quando eu digo cedo, estou falando de acordar as 5am pra chegar la as 6am. Você, leitor, deve estar pensando WHAAAAAAAAAAT? Pois é, eu também pensei isso. Vou explicar o porque:

Quem aqui ja viu The Hunger Games (Jogos Vorazes)? Bom, tem uma parte do filme que a menina se volutaria pra ir pro jogo no lugar da irma dela, que foi sorteada. Obvio que ela não queria ir no jogo ( vocês que já viram o filme vão entender), mas ela se voluntaria pra ir no lugar da irmã. Bom, foi mais ou menos isso que eu fiz. Existe uma tarefa na empresa que é cuidar do sistema. Quando eu digo cuidar do sistema, é achar entradas duplicadas, procurar por erros, problemas, e coisas assim, e enquanto isso ta rolando, ninguém pode usar o sistema. Isso tem que ser feito uma vez por semana, e demora duas horas. Ai, a moca que fazia isso antes mandou um e-mail dizendo basicamente o seguinte: Cansei, agora é a vez de outra pessoa fazer. Ai eu, como sou uma boa pessoa, me voluntariei. Então, hoje era dia de acordar as 5, chegar as 6, e blablabla. Me pergunta se eu acordei? Pfffff, o despertador tocou, eu dei-lhe uma pequena porrada, e segui em frente. Acordei as 9 como se não devesse nada a ninguém.

Solução? Vou pro escritório no domingo :(   

Day 12

Eh incrivel como as coisas mudam com o tempo. Eu tava lendo os posts que eu escrevi no inicio do Blog, posts de quando eu tava na Finlandia, de quando tava triste, de quando tava feliz..... morri de rir relembrando. Tem tantas coisas que eu nao lembro de ter acontecido, tantas piadas que eu nao lembro de ter contado, eu adorei poder voltar no tempo e ler coisas tao legais, tao engracadas.

Eu hoje fui me encontrar com a Transfer Advisor da universidade que eu quero ir em Agosto. Noticia triste, ela me falou que algumas das minhas aulas da RMU em Pittsburgh nao vao transferir. Fiquei chateada, claro, mas bola pra frente ne? De boa, tudo tranquilo.
Ai eu descobri o curso perfeito pra mim, que eh um curso de Business entrepreneurship, que me deixou bem animada. Ai descobri que eles so aceitam 40 alunos nesse programa. Ou seja, EH PRA LA QUE EU QUERO IR hahahahha. Quero todo mundo de dedos cruzados pra eu ser aceita :)

-Annah

Day 11

I just got home after finishing my History final. Not so bad actually, there is still hope for an A.
So now I only have 5 finals and a paper to write, all before Tuesday. Things are getting craaaaaaazy over here! hahaha. It feels like running a marathon, although I wouldn't know because I have never run one. But you get the metaphor.

So something interesting happened today: my professor gave me a hug. It was kinda awkward, but she was very kind to me. I had to take my final earlier (instead of taking it next wednesday) because I have to go to Paris tuesday night to visit grandpa at the nursing home. So I asked her and she was very nice about it, and she let me take it today. At the end she said she understands I am going through a lot right now and that it must be really hard. She said I am amazing and I am a great student, and then she gave me a hug. So so so sweet.

Anyway, it's labor day in Brazil, and I am here ralando duro. Então voce que está ai em casa curtindo o tempo livre, aproveita o feriado por mim também!

Annah

Day 10

I had a presentation today. I was up yesterday until 3:30 in the morning, trying to fix one of the girl's mistake. My part of the project was done on Friday. This girl decided to do her part at 11pm the night before. And then she found out she did not know how to do her part. So I was up until 3:30am trying to do her part.

So we got to class, and the other girl was 20 minutes late. So we got points taken off because of that. Then the guy messed up the order of the questions, so basically we were all confused and didn't know what was comming next. Bottom line, we also lost points for disorganization, and we did a terrible speech. 

And the cherry on top of my sunday? the grade is per group, not individually. Yep, I hate group projects. 

Day 9

This week is probably going to be the busiest week of the history of busy weeks. I have a presentation tomorrow, exam on Wednesday, a meet with a transfer adviser on Thursday, another exam on Friday, then 4 exams on Tuesday then I head straight to the airport from school. On top of all of this I have tons of stuff to do at work, and organize everything to spend a week away in Paris. Man, this is going to be crazy! 

So today I was at work and Noriko (the one I call Grandma) looked at me and said “hey zombie, good morning”. That was about the cutest thing ever. She is 70+ years old, very small, Japanese with a heavy accent, and very closed off to people. Well, not to me. She calls me Zombie now, due to my lack of sleep and increased eye bags under my eyes. Hahaha Grams is the best!!

Okay, time to study now. Bye :) 

Day 8

I feel like a man living in a cave: I just get out of my room to eat and pee. It feels like I haven't seen the daylight in years, and contact with humans seems like something unheard of. I have had 5 cups of coffee, 3 major meltdowns, 1 shower and 15 hours of sleep in the past 3 days. I have worked on accounting (or maybe accounting was working on me), on a speech presentation I have on Tuesday, on my history study guide for the final, and then I did some more accounting. Still not done with accounting; I had to stop, otherwise I was gonna go insane. Maybe I am already going insane and it is too late to save myself. I ran out of songs to listen to and pajamas to wear. I am telling you, I will probably have completely white hair by the age of 25.

-Annah

Day 7

Today is one of those Saturdays. You know, when the weather is cool, rainy, and you just want to snuggle in bed and watch a movie drinking some hot chocolate. Well, too bad I can´t do that: I have to do accounting. 

Now, anyone that sees me frequently and knows me well, knows that accounting and I do not have a friendly relationship. I don't want to say the word ‘hate’, but I can firmly assure y’all that I strongly despite accounting. There is just something about the “unlogic” logic, the annoying rules and the boxed thoughts that won’t allow anyone doing accounting to think their own way. And I hate it. There, I said it. So no, I am not in a good mood today. But in 2 weeks, I shall never have to study it again. So fingers crossed this pain is over soon!

Day 6

Oh, the beauty of a Friday. 

For most college students, Fridays are the days for epic parties and alcohol poisoning. For me, Fridays mean something else. Friday is the day that I come home around 4 or 5pm and I have the house for myself for about an hour. I know it doesn’t seem much, but peace and quiet is just what I need to start a good Friday night. Then, when people start coming home, we usually start cooking dinner. After dinner, depending on what time it is, we all sit and watch Criminal Minds or NCIS. Keep in mind this is the only time during the week any of us really watches TV. Then it is almost 10pm, I come to my room and start doing homework. Now, what I like the most about this part is that, on a normal week day, I also do homework super late but I actually have to get up early. On a Friday though, I don’t have to feel guilty about doing my homework till late, because I get to sleep in.

So yes, you might want to say I am lame, but there is nothing wrong with being a nerd. 

Day 5

Today was actually very productive. After a massive day at school (from 9am to 3pm), I went to the office, got my things done, and now I just got home, paid my bills, paid my citation (yes, I got a parking ticket over the weekend because my paper expired and I couldn't go back and change it), organized a pile of papers that was begging to be organized, and now I am thinking about what to cook for dinner. After dinner I still have more stuff to do, of course, but I can say I actually have things under control. 

Finals week is coming along. Next week is that marathon of asking all the questions to our professors. Then the weekend is hibernation and study mode ON. Then finals, then I am D.O.N.E.

Summer is just around the corner, and I have great plans for it! First of all, I’m going to Mexicoooooooooooo J I’m going to visit my dear friend that is graduating, and I can’t wait to see her again. Besides that, I am turning 21, which means I can actually go out like a normal person in this country. Daddy is coming to visit, and hopefully my Mom will make her way here as well. I’m telling you, summer can’t come fast enough!

-Annah

Day 4... and 3 :)

Apparently my challenge is not going so well, since I have already forgotten to write yesterday. Well, I will do my best to keep up hahaha.

If anyone has recently tried to apply to university, you will understand when I say that bureaucracies and procedures are not always the most clever or clear. As I am still trying to complete my business course and finish my degree, I can say that I have experienced quite a bit of ups and downs when dealing with this so called bureaucracy. I guess the main key that I have learned about going to college is TRUST, BUT VERIFY. I have been recently given information about my current college that is untrue and unheard of to the university I intended to apply. That just cost me my application for this year at the university I wanted to go to, meaning I either wait to go there in August 2014, or I go somewhere else. Yes, that sucks. But I am not going to sit here and cry. I am taking matters into my own hands and doing it all again, with my new philosophy in mind: trust, but verify. Because isn't that what life is about? learning from our mistakes?  :)

-Annah

Day 2

I was in class today, learning the Vietnam War, and how America was involved in this communist-capitalist cold war with the Soviet Union.  Interesting class, nice professor, what else could I ask for? Well, the answer is BETTER CLASSMATES. I know my education should not have anything to do with the person sitting next to me, but in this case it really does. Ms. “I-don’t-care” was sitting right behind me. At first, there was the bag of chips. After 10 minutes of wrapping noise, I politely turned around and said “excuse me, but you are not supposed to eat in class. Thanks.” And that was the end of it for a while. Until the unbelievable happened: she started snoring. At first I didn’t know what the sound was. I started looking around, when I suddenly saw her and realized what was happening. Head down, eyes closed, mouth open and full blown snores coming out of it. We poked her a few times, because I wasn’t the only one being disturbed by her. She kept falling back asleep and snoring more and more and more. So bottom line is, my professors might be great, and I might make the best out of my studies, but at the end of the day, a good school makes a difference.

Luckily the semester is almost over. YAY! 

-Annah

Creative writing

I want to start writing again. When I write, I feel complete, I feel alive. 

About 7 or 8 months ago I was inspired by a 3 minute talk where Matt Cutts presents a simple idea of revitalizing your life by making 30 day challenges with yourself. Ever since I saw this video I haven’t stopped doing my own challenges and spreading the idea. 

For anyone interested, this is the video where. Cutts introduces his 30 day challenges. http://www.ted.com/talks/matt_cutts_try_something_new_for_30_days.html

So was staring at a blank paper when it dawned on me: my new challenge will start today. I will write every day, for 30 days. Now, I am aware I will run out of things to say because my life is not thaaaat interesting. And my posts might start becoming quite boring. But you know what? I am willing to take the risk.

Cheers and see y'all tomorrow :) 

2013

Comecando 2013 com estilo!